My Music Man, Summer The first time I paddled a kayak as an adult, I borrowed a boat and floated MIssoula's nearby Milltown Pond. A few years ago I posted a blog about buying my first boat, and included the story about how my then-boyfriend now-husband tried to be patient while I, a somewhat stubborn … Continue reading Seeking calm waters: letting go
grief
I love you bigger than the sky
I've had a hard time knowing what to do with the shock and grief I've felt in response to the recent school shooting. Yes, we must demand gun control. Yes, we can hold those we love dear and send prayers and support to the affected families and community. Other writer friends have expressed that they … Continue reading I love you bigger than the sky
The Us in This Is Us
It is rare these days for me to be wrapped up in a television show. Like a lot of kids of the 1960s, I grew up with Gilligan's Island, and as a pre-teen, Friday nights meant a round of The Brady Bunch, Partridge Family and Room 222. Cartoons were not my favorite although I remember … Continue reading The Us in This Is Us
A circle of caregiving
This piece first appeared in Today's Caregiver on April 4, 2022. Thank you Today's Caregiver for sharing my writing with your followers. My mother died in my dining room during the pandemic. Three weeks prior, the 2021 ice storm devastated Oregon’s Willamette Valley and cut power to our home and her electric hospital bed. Yet, … Continue reading A circle of caregiving
Death, taxes and blossoming cherry trees
When I awoke yesterday I tried to decipher why I was so tired. An April first joke? Gratefully I had the opportunity to spend last weekend at our beloved Illahee with my bestie-for-forever friend, and I had even taken two days of vacation from work. I am fortunate and grateful. Yet as I awakened Friday … Continue reading Death, taxes and blossoming cherry trees
Of wallpaper and memories
I am a visual learner, meaning also that my mind sometimes wanders during verbal activities. Especially if something catches my eye or attention. I think about this occasionally in the context of my own aging. Age-related macular degeneration lies heavily in my gene pool: I walked with my mom in her final years, a decade … Continue reading Of wallpaper and memories
Dear Mom, it’s Christmas and I miss you
Dear Mom, it's Christmas and I miss you. I've missed you every day since you died; how can it have been nine months? I miss you as I visit parks, so many places you and I journeyed together - later you using sticks, walker and wheelchair. I miss you when I cook certain foods, listen … Continue reading Dear Mom, it’s Christmas and I miss you
Paddling, mournfully I muse
I went for a paddle this morning. Knowing it to be one of the last warmer fall mornings. Relaxing a bit, knowing I couldn’t get in the water as early as I do in the summer with daylight lapsing, yet still one of the only boats on the water. Not being much of a cold … Continue reading Paddling, mournfully I muse
It must be said
I woke up this morning knowing I must write about this. Usually I feel the rush of words dictating my next blog at other times: during a walk, as I cycle to work, even while reading a book. Not this time. This is tough to write, a topic some may say best for intimate conversations. … Continue reading It must be said
The anniversary emotional rollercoaster
So many different anniversaries we note in these human lives we lead. We anticipate them, celebrate some and mourn others. We memorialize significant historical and celebratory events, the bad and good: D.Day, 9/11, the first pandemic lock down, the 1977 Blazer NBA win, February 14, 1859 Statehood. Some anniversaries remind us of accomplishments: we reminisce … Continue reading The anniversary emotional rollercoaster
Dede's Books and blog 